New Multiplayer Mode, Maps and SDK for Left 4 Dead this Spring
Left4Dead411 brings news that Left 4 Dead is going to see considerable updates this coming spring, including the addition of two new campaigns to Versus mode, most likely Dead Air and Death Toll, the release of the SDK and a brand new game mode, dubbed 'Survival'. There is no word as to what Survival mode will entail as of yet. From the details in the press release, it appears that Valve plan to release the maps and the new game mode on the Xbox 360 as well as PC.
The press release from Valve is as follows;
Quote:
Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Half-Life, Portal, Team Fortress, and Counter-Strike) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced a series of content and development releases for its latest title, 2008's best-selling new game property for the PC and Xbox 360, Left 4 Dead (L4D).
The first L4D DLC - dubbed the L4D Survival Pack -- is due for release this spring and introduces a new multiplayer game mode entitled, Survival, plus two complete campaigns for Versus Mode . A Critic's Choice Edition of the game is also heading to retail stores this spring, and will include access to all the content introduced in the L4D: Survival Pack.
In addition, for PC gamers and aspiring developers, the first Left 4 Dead release for the Source Software Development Kit (Source SDK) will allow the creation of custom Left 4 Dead campaigns that will be discoverable via L4D's matchmaking system. The SDK update is also due for release this spring, and is free of charge to all owners of L4D on the PC.
"Since Half-Life launched in 1998, Valve has made continuous efforts to expand the offering of its products beyond what's included on the day of launch," said Gabe Newell, co-founder and president of Valve. "With Half-Life and Counter-Strike, and more recently Team Fortress 2, we've learned that we're no longer making stand-alone games but creating entertainment services. With Left 4 Dead we're extending that tradition by creating additional gameplay and releasing our internal tools to aspiring developers so they may also create and distribute new Left 4 Dead experiences."
Left 4 Dead is a survival action game from Valve that blends the social entertainment experience of multiplayer games such as Counter-Strike and Team Fortress with the dramatic, narrative experience made popular in single player action game classics such as the Half-Life series of games. Released in November of 2008, L4D has earned over 25 industry awards from outlets around the world.
It almost sounds as if they are going to CHARGE for the 2 ported maps and new mode. I really hope Valve hasn't changed on us. L4D was $50. TF2 was $30, and it's been getting tons of patches and new content, at a much faster pace than L4D ever has and probably ever will. I don't know what's going on.
It would be pretty dumb to charge for the PC update since enabling versus on the remaining maps could be easily modded in with the SDK, and people would just play that. Most people probably wouldn't want to pay for the new gametype no matter how totally awesome it might be.
The only DLC I would consider paying for would be brand new campaigns. Adding new characters would be cool too. Even then, expansion packs for multiplayer games (other than MMOs) tend to be a waste of money since most people wouldn't buy them and you eventually wouldn't be able to find any games.
It would be pretty dumb to charge for the PC update since enabling versus on the remaining maps could be easily modded in with the SDK, and people would just play that. Most people probably wouldn't want to pay for the new gametype no matter how totally awesome it might be.
The only DLC I would consider paying for would be brand new campaigns. Adding new characters would be cool too. Even then, expansion packs for multiplayer games (other than MMOs) tend to be a waste of money since most people wouldn't buy them and you eventually wouldn't be able to find any games.
Exactly that remind me the maps for Battlefield 2 that EA sold on online distribution.
So wait... are the new campaigns for Versus the other two on the disc? Are they brand new campaigns? If they're new, are they compatible in co-op? This doesn't say much of anything except for a new mode with no details and the SDK stuff, which I guess is exciting for a lot of PC players.
Let me start by saying this. I don't even need new movies to enjoy this game. It is a masterpiece as is. I could play this game, like some people can drink beer - every night for years and years without even a hint of getting bored of it. Please keep this in mind when you read the following.
In fact, this announcement is disappointing, for three reasons:
Until today, I was still hoping that this inevitable announcement would tell us that Valve was unlocking those movies in the imminent patch fixing the Infected. (I am assuming the two "new" campaigns are the ones we have on the disc that we can't play). Indeed, I expected them to issue this patch (this is not DLC folks) a while ago. At the launch, they were all like, "We are going to pour so much love on this game (the 360 version), and it will all be coming very soon, and then we are going to keep it coming." In the current gaming industry, where AAA games are released monthly, if not weekly, even early spring is not soon. In Valve-ese, however, "spring" really means maybe mid-summer, ...maybe. That is no where near soon, nor is unlocking the two movies we already have on the disc, DLC.
There is no mention of an actual NEW movie. I was hoping for a shopping mall, a cruise ship, an abandoned mine, an underground laboratory, a run through Hollywood, or almost any other new movie to be announced.
The thought of a new game mode created by the developer after release, isn't exciting. Traditionally, they are not well thought out, and are not fun. ::cough:: Annex ::cough::
On the other hand, as regards #3, when the community puts something together, as they always do for the PC, especially with Valve's tools, it is often even better than the developer's original game. Counter-Strike, Team Fortress, and Portal to name a few, are all made from Valve's Half-Life engines by a few enthusiasts with in-your-face dedication and raw talent, and revolutionary inspiration.
It seems to me that Valve is too whatever to make their own additional movies, or even their own games for that matter. Indeed, it seems they have abandoned development altogether, becoming instead, a publisher that simply "buys" the latest hot mod and the people responsible for it. In the end, they are just tossing their tools out there and letting the community do it. Sincerely, that is great. The PC community is snuggling them right now, assured of their nightly romp in the sack. This wife is a tiger in bed. In the meantime, the console gamers are sitting half-naked hugging their knees and clutching their diamond necklace in their dark, lonely apartment, saying to themselves, "He's never gonna leave her. What was I thinking? He's never gonna leave her!"
We STILL don't have the extra maps that the community designed for TF2, and with this announcement there is no reason to believe that they will change that pattern for L4D. Let no one say this is Microsoft's Certification Department's fault. Valve is holding onto their shit like it was money.
This is fundamentally detrimental to the console L4D-playing community. By the time that "DLC" comes out, many people will have sold their game. In fact, many people have already done so, or at least stopped playing because they are bored with only the two movies. ...But then again, those people probably don't like beer, either.
Let me finish on this positive note.
If "Survival" is basically the current mode, but with a vehicle/safe house that holds less than the number of survivors that started the movie - (as one of my Gearhead buddies suggested a couple of months ago) then BRING IT ON! At the end of every round, the survivors have to make the excrutiating decision to leave someone behind, or simply fight for the only spot! That, would be gaming history. Nothing save real life experience even comes close to challenging a person's morality/ethicality, like this game could.
So it looks like I'm going to have to bite the bullet and buy the PC version as it looks like 360 yet again is being fucked over.
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I had that dream again…the one where I do terrible things to Penguins with a Croquet mallet. Twinkles The Marvel Horse.
Gamertag: Todeswulf Steam: Balamoor
I am all ready for it.
